I am going through all the basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) process of getting a website to the top of search engine results pages, including exactly what SEO really is and what it is about.

This is the twenty-first article in this series.

The whole focus of SEO is driving traffic to the website that your home based business is built on. That’s when you focus on turning those leads for your business opportunity into paying customers or affiliates.

If you’re running an SEO campaign, there are a few tools you should purchase. The good news here is that they are all free if you want them to be. Another thing to think about. You’re targeting Google because it beats the competition when it comes to search engine advertising. What many people don’t know is that Google also provides many tools.

The most important thing you do with SEO is keyword analysis. There are a number of good keyword research tools available, and again, many are free. The most popular tool to do this is called Wordtracker. You can sign up for Wordtracker on a trial basis and check it out, but I would like to point out one thing.

Keyword analysis is done in different ways using various methods for each of their individual research tools.

Not all are built the same. They vary in how they achieve certain stats. Some show results based on the last 3 months compared to others who base their results on years. Some will let you focus on recent statistics so you can see the latest trends. Some vary in the composition of the search engines they survey. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

As I mentioned earlier, Google provides many tools that are free to use. One of those tools is somewhat unknown, but it can be a great advantage.

Google search based keyword tool.

This tool is used for Google AdWords PPC (pay per click) and because of that it is a great place to do some keyword research. Remember I said that keyword research tools are not all the same and often use many different search engine results to compile their statistics. This one specifically uses the Google search engine when collecting results and because you are targeting Google for your SEO… why not use their tool? You can easily find it on the internet by searching for “GKT” or “Google Keyword Tool”

If you’re just starting out, I’d use Google’s keyword tool and maybe get the free trial of Wordtracker. Use both to determine your keyword phrases.

However, all research must begin by using your brain, paper and pencil, and writing down all your ideas.